


In Sight

by dryswallow



Category: Layton Kyouju vs Gyakuten Saiban | Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Genre: Contains a puzzle, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 22:30:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4582554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dryswallow/pseuds/dryswallow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are no witches or magic in the city of London. (Eve and Espella take a vacation.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Sight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xenoglossy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenoglossy/gifts).



Espella barely spends any time taking in the room. She runs to the window as soon as she sees it, pressing her hands to the glass.

“Look!” she exclaims. Her eyes have gone wide as she looks out over the streets and buildings beneath them. The city stretches far, so far that even the sea is out of sight.

“Do we have a good view?” Eve asks from the door, pulling in her suitcase.

“I think so.” Espella’s face is so close to the glass that her breath leaves a small cloud when she speaks. “The city looks so big. I couldn’t tell it was that big when I was on the ground.”

“It will be even better at night,” Eve promises her. “With all the lights.”

Their window is large, covering almost the entirety of the wall. Even from where she stands by the bed, Eve is taken in by the view. She sees buildings with familiar shapes, with old roofs and old walls that have been standing for many years, and regrets that she doesn’t remember their names. London is a city filled with history, but it’s a history Eve barely knows. 

“I’m feeling a bit hungry,” Espella says, turning away from the window. “Where should we go for lunch?”

“It’s up to you,” Eve tells her. “Anywhere you like.”

Anywhere you like – that was supposed to be the point of the entire trip. Eve had schemed for months, looking through travel guides and weighing possibilities. She wanted to show Espella life as it exists outside of Labyrinthia, but she knew that Espella’s father would not agree to the trip without both solid reasoning and a secure plan. Eve gave up on the idea of giving Espella the world, and instead focused on giving Espella a week-long glimpse of it. They'll spend four days at a reputable hotel in London, long enough to see the sights, visit Professor Layton, and give Espella a glimpse of how big the world is outside of Labyrinthia. Then they'll catch a train to Brighton for three days and stay at an inn by the seaside, something a bit more relaxing. And then the journey home.

In the mirrored walls of the hotel elevator, Eve does not see Inquisitor Darklaw. And the woman standing next to her is not Bezella the witch, because there are no witches or magic in the city of London. The mirror reflects only two tourists, two ordinary young women. It was a transformation aided not by spellwork, but instead by clothes Eve had ordered from the mainland through a catalogue. A soft summer dress with a cardigan for Espella, and a pair of trousers and a light sweater for herself.

Out on the streets of London, the illusion seems to hold. The eyes of the people around them do not widen with fright or narrow with suspicion when Espella walks past them. No one steps quickly to the side, desperate to avoid misfortune. They barely seem to see her at all, gazes sliding off of her as though she were unremarkable. And though it has months since the people of Labyrinthia treated Espella with open distrust, Eve can’t help but feel relief.

Here, Espella is a stranger. She has no history. She was never a witch at all.

Eve smiles to herself. A small success.

-

The first few days of their trip run as smoothly as Eve had hoped. The two of them visits shops, museums, restaurants, and even an old playhouse. They do get lost once while navigating London’s narrow and winding streets, but make it home safely with the help of a friendly cab driver.

It’s not until the third day that Eve’s planning begins to unravel.

They arrive at the café before than their arranged meeting time only to find that Layton has managed to arrive even earlier. Predictably, there is already a pot of tea sitting in front of him. He waves once he sees them, beckoning them over to his table.

“I’m glad you could make it,” he says, always the gentleman. “Order whatever you like, it's my treat. The tea here is topnotch, of course, and they also have very good tarts.”

Espella slides comfortably into her seat, making Eve feel even more awkward by comparison. If Layton notices, he doesn’t comment, and instead starts a discussion about the progress in Labyrinthia.

“And how are you enjoying London so far?” Layton asks soon after they’ve started on their second pot of tea.

“It’s lovely,” Espella says. “I wasn’t able to see very much the last times I was here, so I’m happy to have the chance to explore.”

“And yourself, Miss Belduke?”

“Me?” Eve asks, and Layton nods. It takes a moment for her to pull together an answer; for the last few days, she has been spending much more time paying attention to Espella's enjoyment of their trip than she has her own.

“London is a lovely city,” Eve answers. “We visited some very nice gardens yesterday, with flowers I don’t think either of us had seen before.”

“Flowers, you say?” Layton says, a sudden gleam in his eye. “That reminds me of-“

“A puzzle?” Espella asks.

“Yes, my dear, a puzzle.” He digs into his coat pocket to retrieve a wooden box. “I found this while cleaning up my office today. It’s a bit old, but it’s still in good shape. Here.”

He places it on the table in front of Eve and Espella. The box is made of dark wood, and each of its sides are covered in images of plants. Flowers and leaves intertwine with each other, creating the impression that they are guarding the box and its secrets. 

“This, as you may have guessed, is a puzzle box. It is locked, and will remain so until you can find a way to unlock it by interacting with the box itself. There are instructions on the top of it, in the form of a riddle.”

Espella turns the box over in her hands, finally coming upon a side with an inscription. She reads aloud:

_“Pick all flowers with blue petals – ignore the old weeds.  
Two as one and four in all will hold the key you need.”_

“Two as one and four in all,” Eve repeats, trying to make sense of the numbers. “How many petals are on the flowers?”

“Six on each of them,” Espella says, investigating. “They all look the same. All twenty flowers. This puzzle seems a bit difficult, Professor.”

“You’re a smart girl, Espella. And you as well, Miss Belduke. I think together you’ll come up with an answer, even if it takes a while. Keep it for as long as you’d like.”

“Keep it?” Espella asks. “Are you sure?”

“Of course,” Layton says. “Bring it back to me when you have the answer. That way I’ll be sure to see you again.”

“You’re very generous, Professor,” Eve says. She looks over the box one last time, and then turns to Eve.

“Here, Eve, you hold onto it for now.”

She slides the box across the table towards Eve, then stands and begins to collect her things.

“Where are you going?” Eve asks, trying not to sound too startled.

“I was hoping to do a bit of shopping on my own this afternoon,” Espella says. “You can finish with your tea with the Professor and then meet me later on at the hotel, all right?”

Eve wants to say no, it’s not all right. She had vowed to Espella’s father that their trip would be safe – that she would protect Espella and keep her from harm. It would be impossible for her to do that without staying by Espella’s side.

But Layton’s right, Espella is a smart girl. And she deserves her freedom.

“If you’re sure,” Eve says.

“It will be fine. You gave me a map and everything, remember? And if I’m truly lost, I can always take a cab.”

She squeezes Eve’s hand before she leaves, the bell on top of the café door ringing cheerfully behind her.

“She seems well,” Layton says, and sips at his tea.

“I’m glad,” Eve says.

She weighs her next words carefully. Hershel Layton is a smart man – he proved that many times over during the trials in Labyrinthia. No matter what she says, he’s likely to see the truth hidden behind it.

“I’m not sure sometimes,” she confesses. “If she seems well or not.”

Layton looks at her with an unexpected seriousness.

“That surprises me,” he says. “When we last visited Labyrinthia, you two seemed very close.”

“We are,” she tells him, and says nothing more. The words are gone, replaced by a tightness in her throat. How could she even begin to explain it? The distrust she still feels for her own mind and how its weight possesses her body.

Across the table, Layton smiles sympathetically and pours himself another cup of tea.

“Sometimes, Miss Belduke, you only need to ask.”

Outside the café, a wind has picked up. A wraithlike woman passes by the window, walking as though she is trying her hardest to keep herself from being blown away.

“I hope you brought an umbrella,” Layton says. “I think it’s going to rain again soon.”

-

After saying goodbye to Layton, Eve returns to the hotel. When she finds their room empty, she ignores the worry that blooms in her stomach and busies herself with mundane things: reorganizing her luggage; taking another look through her guidebook; finding a newspaper in the lobby to check the weather for the next few days. She even spends a while pressing the flowers on the puzzle box in different combinations, but nothing comes of it.

An hour passes. Then two. By the end of the third hour, Eve is no longer able to distract herself. She paces around the room, weighing her options, but it doesn’t take long for her to make a decision. Eve can’t let herself do nothing.

With her room key in her pocket and a map of London clutched tightly in her hand, Eve leaves the hotel. She walks circles through the streets around the hotel, hoping to catch a glimpse of Espella somewhere in the crowd. Once or twice she chases after a young woman with blonde hair who could have been Espella, but it’s always someone else, a stranger.

A wind pushes through the streets, bringing cold and damp air with it. The rain starts, just as Layton said it would. The crowd starts moving quicker as people try to outrun, ducking into storefronts to open umbrellas or take shelter. Eve is carried by the flow of people, back towards the hotel. She might as well give up. There’s a phone in their room – she can call someone. She can ask someone at the front desk what she should do. She can do something useful.

When she arrives, the lobby is crowded with tourists shaking their umbrellas and talking in languages Eve can’t understand. There’s a line in front of the elevator so she rushes past it to the staircase, running up all three flights as quickly as she can.

When she opens the door to their room, the lights are already on. Espella is curled up against a mound of pillows, a book open in her hands.

“There you are,” she says, putting her book aside when she sees Eve come in. “Did you get caught in the rain?”

Eve opens her mouth to speak but she realize she can’t – her lungs are empty and heaving, desperate for air. Espella waits patiently as she tries to regain her composure, straightening her clothes and pushing damp hair away from her face.

“When you didn’t come back, I went out looking for you,” Eve explains. “I was starting to worry.”

“I got back a little ago,” Espella tells her. “We must have just missed each other.”

Eve feels stupid. And more than stupid, she feels useless and confused. It must show on her face, because Espella has turned to her with a look of concern.

“Eve,” she says, reaching out her arms. “Eve, it’s all right. Come here.”

Eve does as she’s asked. She sits on the side of the bed and lets Espella’s arms circle her. Eve breathes, consciously now, deep breaths that will steady her chaotic heart.

“Thank you for worrying about me,” Espella says. “But I’m fine, see? We’re both fine.”

Espella lifts a hand to Eve’s cheek, as she thinks Eve won’t believe her unless she can provide physical proof of what she’s saying. Her skin feels feverishly warm, if only because Eve’s own body is still cold from the rain. It’s comforting, and though Eve tries not to, she ends up shifting into the touch, letting Espella’s fingers fall into place along her jawbone.

“You are like a cat,” Espella says, laughing.

“I’m what?”

“Eve the cat reacts the same way when I pet her,” she explains.

Eve opens her mouth to object, but her words disappear when Espella brings her hand from Eve’s cheek to the back of her neck. She lingers there, gently rubbing at the tense muscles in Eve’s neck before letting her hand travel down the length of Eve’s back. 

“I’m glad I got Father to agree to this trip,” Espella says. “You work too hard. Even now that we’re on vacation.”

Eve can feel her thoughts beginning to twist in confusion.

“What do you mean?” she asks.

“I was hiding it from you because I knew you’d disagree, but part of the reason why I kept bothering him about it was to give you a break from all the work you’ve been doing,” Espella explains. “That, and I wanted to be able to spend more time with you. Just you, I mean. We were away from each other for so many years – I want to make up for lost time.”

Eve’s head is buzzing. There’s too much information to take in and none of it makes sense.

“Espella, this trip was for you, not for me,” she protests. “That’s why I asked your father to allow it. There’s so much of the world you haven’t seen, and it’s not fair to you. I don’t think you should make choices about your future without seeing all the possibilities that are out there.

“I wanted to do something good for you,” Eve says. “You deserve it. After everything.”

“Eve,” Espella says softly. She didn’t know, Eve realizes. Of course she didn’t know; Eve never told her.

Eve is crying. She doesn’t notice it until her vision starts to blur and tears are dripping down onto the bedsheets. She wipes at her face with her sleeve; there’s nothing else to use.

“You have done good things for me,” Espella says, as if it’s that simple. “And I know it’s hard for both of us to stop thinking about the awful things that happened, but they’re behind us. We know better now. Okay?”

Eve nods. She doesn’t know if she agrees, but she nods, and lets Espella hold her until her face is dry again.

“No wonder Father gave in, when both of us wanted this so much,” Espella says. “I started asking soon after you brought up the idea of a trip to me – I didn’t think you had approached him about it too.”

She pushes Eve’s hair back so she can kiss her forehead softly. 

Her face hovers in front of Eve’s and her face takes on a look of curiosity, as if she wants to do something else. Eve waits, but nothing comes of it. Eventually Espella draws back, and the space between them is open once again.

“I think we’re both tired,” Espella says. “Besides, it’s raining. Can we stay here tonight?”

-

Dinner plans are cancelled. They order room service instead, and eat on the floor by the window while the world outside is drowned.

At first it is quiet. There is only the sound of rain. Eve picks at her food, not knowing what to say. 

“Can I tell you something?” Espella asks eventually, after several attempts at failed conversation.

“Of course,” Eve says. “You don’t have to ask.”

Espella smiles. “I went off on my own earlier because I wanted to buy you a present,” she says. “But then I couldn’t find something I thought was good enough. Isn’t that silly?”

“A present for me?”

“Yes. Because I’ve been thinking about our pendants a lot lately.” She pulls at the length of leather around her neck until the pendant slips free of her shirt. It gleams in the lamplight as she tilts it between her fingers, the red jewel in the centre coming alive with light.

“I like having something to always remind me of you, something that we both have. But a lot has changed, and I thought it would be nice to have something new. I was looking for something I could buy for both of us, to match.”

She lifts her eyes from the pendant to meet Eve’s gaze and immediately begins to giggle.

“Why do you look so embarrassed?” she asks.

“I’m not!” Eve says. “I’m just very surprised.”

It’s a lie, and the colour she can feel spreading across her cheeks makes it obvious. Eve takes a quick drink of her water, hoping her blush will be gone by the time she’s finished.

“If you’d like,” she says, “we can go shopping again once we’re in Brighton and look for something together. For the both of us.”

It might have been the right thing to say, because Espella 

“I would like that. I’d like that very much.”

Espella comes in close again, looking up at Eve intently. She must have made her mind up about something, Eve thinks, just before Espella takes Eve by the shoulders and kisses her.

The kiss is gentle but quick. Eve doesn’t even have a chance to close her eyes before Espella is pulling away.

“Why did you do that?” Eve asks, and immediately wants to kick herself for it. The words are wrong but she can’t take them back. She looks to Espella’s face for a reaction, afraid that she’s hurt her; instead she sees warmth, and kindness, and compassion. She sees all the goodness that kept her at Espella’s side when they were children, and then kept her at a distance after the storytelling began. She sees the woman she wants to protect, and more than protect.

“I’m did it because I wanted to,” Espella answers. “And because I like you. Should I not do it again?”

“No,” Eve says, a little too quickly. “I mean. Yes. Yes, do it again.”

Espella tilts her face upwards towards Eve but stops short of a kiss, keeping a little distance between them. Eve’s breath is caught in her throat as she waits, her body feeling pulled towards Espella’s with by a force that reminds her of gravity. She waits. But she doesn’t want to wait anymore.

Sometimes you only need to ask.

“Espella, you’re very important to me,” Eve says. “And I’m sorry if I do a poor job of it, but I want to protect you. I want to give you the best life you can have. So I’d like to know, how do you feel about me? Are you enjoying yourself here?”

“You goose,” Espella teases. “I just told you I like you. And I’m having a wonderful time.”

“First I’m a cat, now I’m a goose….” Eve shakes her head. It’s ridiculous – they’re both ridiculous. But she got her answer, and it was the one she was hoping for.

“Kiss me,” Espella says.

And Eve does.

-

On the train to Brighton, Eve sits by the window and lets the world outside speed past. Between the steady rocking of their car and Espella’s constant present at her side, she feels comfortable and safe, almost enough to be lulled into a nap. She’s almost ready to fall asleep when beside her Espella gives an excited yelp.

“Oh!” Espella exclaims. “I think I’ve got it. Eve, could you lend me your hands?”

Eve opens her eyes.

“My hands?”

“Yes, both of them.”

Trusting in Espella, Eve holds her hand out in front of her, palms facing upward. Espella places the puzzle box in her right hand, gently arranging Eve’s fingers so they are able to reach several of the blue flowers while her palm supports the weight of the box.

“Use your other hand to touch five more of the flowers on the sides near you,” Espella instructs her.

After Eve does as she asks, Espella brings her own hands to the sides of the box that are still untouched. She tries different positions, moving her hands around until between the two of them, every single blue flower has been covered.

“I thought that the numbers in the inscription referred to four specific flowers, or maybe that I had to press them in pairs. But I was wrong,” Espella says. “It can only be done with two people. That’s the answer.”

There were a total of twenty blue flowers on the sides of the box. Two people acting as one, and four hands all together for a total for twenty fingers.

“We have to press them all at once,” Eve says, understanding.

“I think so,” Espella says. “Now press with me on one, two, three!”

Eve presses her fingers into the engraved flowers, feeling the wood give beneath her touch. Instantly, she can hear something click. The top of the box has lifted slightly, a sign that the lock has been opened.

“Eve, we did it.” 

“We did.”

“Aren’t you going to…?” Espella tilts her head, a gesture that Eve doesn’t understand.

“To what?” she asks.

Espella takes her hands away from the box and begins to pose in succession. Eve realizes what she’s doing immediately, and hides her mouth behind her hands as she begins to laugh.

“Every puzzle has an answer,” Espella says, a perfect imitation Professor Layton. She manages to hold her serious expression for only a second before she joins in with Eve’s laughter.

Once they have settled, Espella reaches down to open the box. She lifts the lid, revealing an inside lined with silk the same soft blue as the flowers on the outside of the box. It’s beautiful. It’s also empty.

“Oh,” Eve says. “I thought there would be something inside.”

“Not even picarats,” Espella says, sounding a bit disappointed.

“After we buy that matching jewelry, we could use the box to keep it safe while we travel,” Eve suggests, and Espella is quick to agree.

“Brighton is our next stop,” says a voice over the train’s intercom. “We are arriving at Brighton.”

“We’re almost there,” Espella says, and reaches for Eve’s hand.

The train slows as it nears the terminal. Eve looks out the train window and is surprised by how the scenery has changed. The sky above them is wide and bright, and beyond the fields and townhouses, the sea has come in sight.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Eve and Espella are much more complex characters to write than I first realized, and I had a lot of fun with it.
> 
> This is rougher, shorter, and less reliant on research than I would have liked it to be. I also wasn’t sure how Layton’s London compares to the real London. So if I’ve pissed off anyone from England with mistakes I’ve made, I apologize.
> 
> The particular puzzle box in this fic does not exist, except in my imagination, so I hope its riddle makes as much as sense as I think it does. Did Layton bring that puzzle box with him to give to the girls, and then wait until someone said something that he could claim reminded him of it? You bet he did.


End file.
